The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced this morning the nominations for the 88th edition of the Academy Awards, which include candidates from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico.

The Revenant by Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu leads the Oscar nominations with 12 in total, including for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor. Iñárritu has been nominated seven times to the Academy Awards in total, and has won three statuettes, including for Best Director and Best Picture just a year ago.

Mexican DP Emmanuel Lubezki received his eighth Oscar nomination for Iñárritu’s film, after wining two years in a row with Gravity in 2014, and Birman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) in 2015. Martín Hernández also from Mexico, was nominated for Best Sound Editing for The Revenant, earning his second nomination, one year after his first one.

Big news for Colombia this morning as the South American country received its first nomination ever for Best Foreign Language Film with Ciro Guerra’s El abrazo de la serpiente / Embrace of the Serpent (pictured right). This marks a high point for Colombian cinema, which in 2015 had a stellar year in the international film circuits.

The Brazilian film Boy and the World / O Menino e o Mundo (pictured left) by Alê Abreu was unexpectedly nominated for Best Animated Feature, becoming the first Latin American film to ever been nominated in this category.

The Chilean production Bear Story / Historia de un oso by Gabriel Osorio and Pato Escala received a nomination for Best Animated Short. Additionally, the US-Mexico production Cartel Land by Matthew Heineman nabbed a nomination for Best Documentary Feature.

The winners of the 88th edition of the Academy Awards will be announced on February 28 in Los Angeles, California.

Cinema Tropical's programs are made possible with the support of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. They are also supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the National Endowments for the Arts, and the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture.